I do not consider Northern Virginia (NoVA) a part of Virginia. I know that sounds really harsh but I just do not. I’m from a small town about an hour southwest from Richmond. We’re southern to the core with the accent to prove it. Before coming to Christopher Newport University (CNU), I had never interacted with people from Northern Virginia for extended amounts of time. To be honest, I never really thought about them as a group at all.
However, when I came to CNU, I was astounded. I have never seen people so smart but clueless at the same time. Yes, I know I’m generalizing and I’m very aware that not all Northern Virginians are like this or come from privileged backgrounds. In fact, I’ve met some pretty good NoVA individuals. However, a lot of them somehow have completely forgotten that Virginia is not full of private schools with rich neighborhoods. I have talked to several people from NoVA that seem to think that they live in some place like New York City and have completely given up on southern hospitality, and I do not blame them.
Perhaps I just envy how much opportunity they have and their proximity to the center of democracy. Either way, that does not excuse their erasure of the rest of Virginia. While this piece is lighthearted in nature, I have noticed that in our state government, the small towns that deal with a variety of issues are overlooked and not seen as serious.
I know this has been a grating critique of my fellow Captains but opinions change! I hope that within the next three years, I gain a new perspective of my northern neighbors and maybe they’ll invite me to a Nationals game (that’s if they still like me after this).
